Do you get hangry? (And how to stop it)

Although being very hungry is rarely a pleasant feeling, it can make some people an absolute bear—snarling at others and becoming downright angry.

But there are some very good reasons this happens, and once you understand what’s going on behind the scenes, you can help yourself stay more pleasant and even-keeled between mealtimes!

The major issues at hand here are nutrients and hormones.

The impact of nutrients

The foods you eat (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) are broken down upon digestion into glucose, amino acids and fatty acids, respectively.  Although all of these nutrients can be used an energy source for your body, your brain is extremely dependent on glucose—to the point where it cannot function without it.

So if it’s been a while since you ate, your blood glucose level is low and your brain doesn’t have the glucose it needs, in addition to experiencing difficulty concentrating and memory lapses, making mistakes and even slurring your words, you may also start experiencing frustration and anger.

In addition, lacking nutrients can cause your level of serotonin (your body’s natural feel-good, antidepressant neurotransmitter) to plummet—making you about as pleasant as a cobra.

Lastly, lacking nutrients is what triggers hunger—not just a physical absence of food in the stomach.

So the more you rely on nutrient-poor processed and junk foods, the more you will continue to ride the hunger rollercoaster—and the more miserable you (and everyone within a 50-yard radius of you) will be. 

The role of hormones

Hormones also play a role in your transformation from even-tempered individual to hungry ferocious tiger.

When your blood glucose level drops low enough, your brain sends signals to several organs and glands in your body to release hormones that help increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream.

These include growth hormone from the pituitary, glucagon from your pancreas (which is the opposite of insulin, which lowers your blood glucose), and adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands. 

Adrenaline and cortisol happen to be your stress “fight or flight” hormones—and part of their job in helping you deal with a potential life or death situation is to put glucose into the blood in case you need it for physical or mental activity.

Adrenaline also raises your heart rate and respiration, and can make you react strongly—as if you were in a real stressful situation—even if you are not truly facing physical or mental stress.

In addition, a chemical called neuropeptide Y is released in your brain when you’re hungry, and it helps stimulate your need to feed.  But neuropeptide Y also plays a role in regulating anger and aggression—so it could essentially be doing “double duty” when you’re hungry.

Even it up

The key to taming those bouts of hanger lies in these three things:

1- Avoid getting too hungry and/or skipping meals

Be sure to eat three meals a day—skipping meals is the worst thing you can do on so many fronts.

And be sure to have snacks available–protein is your best bet to help keep you feeling full and to avoid the blood sugar spikes and dips associated with sugars and starchy carbs. 

Good choices include a handful of nuts, a piece of leftover meat, poultry or fish, a cube of cheese, a cup of yogurt or a hard-boiled egg.

2- Eat nutritious foods and encourage efficient digestion

Your feelings of hunger are a direct reflection of a need for nutrients…and your body’s ability to assimilate and absorb nutrients from your foods depends on sound digestion.

So if yours is not going along so well, you could be missing nutrients, triggering hunger, and unleashing your hangry wrath on the poor people around you. 

Plus if you’re a junk food lover, you’re cutting your own throat.  Junk food not only doesn’t nourish you, but it is loaded with refined carbs and sugars—which can put you on the blood sugar rollercoaster and trigger hangry outbursts.

The Great Taste No Pain system will guide you on how to enjoy delicious, nutrient-packed real foods while also showing you the foods that are best paired together to promote better digestion.

Not only will this help ensure your body gets nourished the way it needs to be, but chances are excellent you'll experience fewer digestive issues (like gas, bloating and constipation) too!

Plus the recipes in Great Taste No Pain are the best!  You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how delicious good-for-you foods can be.

Note that if you have gluten issues, I’ve got you covered--Great Taste No Gluten is for you instead.

3- Supplement with a quality probiotic

Having a healthy intestinal environment is essential to the proper absorption of nutrients. 

Problem is, many people’s diets and bathroom habits have created gut environments that are anything BUT healthy.

Trust me, if you eat lots of sugar and refined carbs, drink soda by the gallon, and/or are constipated a lot, things might not be so pretty down there for you…and you could be paying the price in your absorption of nutrients (among other things). 

But a top-quality probiotic like SuperShield can help turn that around for you.

Super Shield’s 13 strains of helpful bacteria can help to repopulate your supply of friendly microbes so they can in turn encourage a healthy gut wall and nutrient absorption, as well as support your immune system and promote more regular BMs!

Tame that inner tiger!

When you take steps to help ensure that you are getting properly nourished, having sound digestion and avoiding long bouts of hunger, you can help tame that inner hanger tiger for good!

Believe me, you will see the difference and everyone around you will thank you. J

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

PS: Always be sure to let your doctor or healthcare provider know what supplements you are taking.